The present invention relates to a strainer that is operated to cause snare wires to contact and separate from a drumhead and to a snare drum.
A snare drum includes a cylindrical shell, a pair of drumheads respectively attached to the upper and lower openings of the shell, snare wires that are provided along the surface of the lower drumhead in a stretched state, and a strainer attached to the outer circumference of the shell. The strainer is used to switch the snare wires between an OFF position, where the wires are separated from the surface of the drumhead, and an ON position, where the wires contact the surface of the drumhead.
As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, a typical strainer 100 includes a strainer body 102 having a slide groove 102a, a slider 103 slidably supported to the strainer body 102, and a cam 104 pivotably supported to the strainer body 102. The slider 103 includes a cam follower 105 and a holder 108, to which a belt 107 of the snare wires 106 are fixed. A circumferentially extending cam groove 104a is formed in the cam 104. An operating lever 104b is integrally formed with the cam 104. The slider 103 is attached to the strainer body 102 and the cam 104 with the cam follower 105 passed through the slide groove 102a and the cam groove 104a. 
When the operating lever 104b of the strainer 100 is pulled up to pivot the cam 104 counter clockwise as viewed in FIG. 10A (clockwise as viewed in FIG. 10B), the cam follower 105 is moved upward in the slide groove 102a while moving in the cam groove 104a. Accordingly, the pivoting motion of the cam 104 is converted into linear motion of the cam follower 105, so that the slider 103 is slide upward together with the cam follower 105. When the operating lever 104b is pulled up until the cam follower 105 contacts an end of the cam groove 104a, the snare wires 106 are switched to the ON position. On the other hand, to switch the snare wires 106 from the ON position to the OFF position, an operation opposite to the operation for switching to the ON position is performed. That is, the operating lever 104b is pulled down to pivot the cam 104 clockwise as viewed in FIG. 10A (counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 10B).
However, the movement speed of the snare wires 106 when switched form the OFF position to the ON position, in other words, the relationship between the operation angle of the operating lever 104b and the movement distance of the snare wires 106 is not considered in the conventional strainer 100. In many cases, as shown in FIG. 11, immediately after the snare wires 106 start being pulled up from the OFF position, the movement distance of the snare wires 106 relative to a given operation angle of the operating lever 104b is relatively large. Also, immediately before the snare wires 106 reach the ON position, the movement distance of the snare wires 106 relative to a given operation angle of the operating lever 104b is relatively small.
In addition, depending on the preference of the player, the position of the snare wires 106 in the up-down direction immediately after the snare wires 106 are switched to the ON position varies. For these reasons, depending on the position of the snare wires 106 immediately after being switched to the ON position, the snare wires 106 hit the drumhead when switched to the ON position, which can produce a relatively loud contact noise. Therefore, during an orchestra performance, if the snare wires 106 are frequently switched between the ON position and the OFF position, the contact noise of the snare wires 106 generated at each switching can damage the atmosphere of the music.
To reduce the contact noise of the snare wires 106, the operating lever 104b may be operated slowly so that the snare wires 106 do not hit the drumhead. However, as shown in FIG. 11, the movement speed of the snare wires 106 the conventional strainer 100 is relatively great from the OFF position to immediately before reaching the ON position. Thus, even if the operating lever 104b is pulled up slowly, it is very difficult to make the snare wires 106 gently touch the drumhead. It is therefore impossible to eliminate the contact noise of the snare wires 106.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,846,978 discloses a strainer different from that described above. The strainer of the US patent has an operating lever that is operated along a horizontal direction when the snare wires are switched to the ON position or OFF position. However, compared to the strainer 100 illustrated in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the strainer of the US patent requires larger movement of the operating lever when switching the snare wires to the ON position or the OFF position. Also, unlike typical strainers, which have an operating lever moved upward or downward, the operating lever is moved along the horizontal direction. The operation of the strainer of the US patent is therefore troublesome for some players. Further, the movement speed of the snare wires when switched to the ON position or the OFF position is not taken in to consideration.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 7,498,501 discloses a strainer that includes a cylindrical base, an adjuster assembly, a snare mount, and an operating lever. The adjuster assembly is slidably supported in the base. The snare mount is a part to which the snare wires are attached, and is attached to the lower end of the adjuster assembly. The operating lever is manipulated to switch the position of the snare wires between an ON position and an OFF position, and is coupled to the adjuster assembly with a link mechanism. The strainer further includes an operating knob and a holding mechanism. The operating knob is used to adjust the position of the snare wires in the up-down direction after. The holding mechanism holds the operating knob so that the operating knob is not loosened by vibration of the drum. However, according to the strainer disclosed in the publication, operation of the operating lever causes rigid bodies (parts) forming the link mechanism to slide on and contact each other. This can result in disturbing noises. Further, parts other than the operating knob need to be prepared as parts forming the holding mechanism. Specifically, a friction ring that is frictionally engaged with the lower surface of the operating knob and a compression spring for urging the friction ring so as to press the friction ring against the lower surface of the operating knob need to be prepared. This increases the number of the parts and is likely to raises the manufacturing costs.